28th June 2015 saw a new chapter being written in the history of kettlebell sport in India. A new city witnessed the wonderful sport of kettlebell lifting for the very first time. In this case, it was the beautiful city of Pune. Fitter Strength was proud to help spread the kettlebell sport to another city in the country after conducting the India's first ever kettlebell championship in Kolkata.

The unique thing about this particular competition however was the fact that most of the contestants actually took part in the competition after two gruelling days of the KTCC level 1 training and examination. Now you might think that these guys at this point might have done the competition as a mere formality, but that would be far from the truth! Almost of the the guys who did the level 1 showed so much enthusiasm and motivation for the competition that even after two hard days of level 1 training, they strongly decided to do all the three 1 arm events and not leave any single event. In most other competitions, where participants are fresh, they are reluctant to do more than 2 events, so needless to say that even I was extremely motivated seeing their enthusiasm levels.

The lifting started around 5.30 pm and went on for about 2 hours. The Men's events saw some very close finishes and great numbers for lifters who just started lifting kettlebells the day before. The Men's 1 Arm Push Press and 1 Arm Clean & press was won by Sanket Patil, and the Men's 1 Arm Snatch was won by Sudeep Kori. The Men's Biathlon was won by Alakh Upasani, and the Men's Long Cycle was won by Siddharth Sarpotdar. All the three Women's event was won by the lone participant, Rhea, who is also an upcoming Rugby player. You can see the complete results by clicking here.

Overall, Pune Kettlebell Championship was a new chapter in the history of kettlebell sport in India, and some very promising lifters were exposed to the platform for the very first time. Their performances gave the hope for some very exciting lifters coming out of Pune in the near future, and no doubt that Pune can soon become a powerhouse of great kettlebell lifters in India!